Defence Statistics Health
Ministry of Defence
Oak 0 West (#6028)
Abbey Wood North
Bristol BS34 8JH
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0)30679 84423
E-mail: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
FOI2020/11473
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
11 November 2020
Dear Mr Overton,
Thank you for your email of 14 October 2020 requesting the following information:
“I understand that Mr J Mercer wants to make this country the best place in the world for veterans. To
this end, can I ask how Mr Mercer proposes to gauge success in this area? More specifically can I ask
the following under FOI:
Can you please share reports or data that Mr Mercer's office has on the following (specifically data -
broken down by year if possible) in the last decade:
- the number of veterans who are homeless
- the number of veterans who have committed suicide
- the number of veterans living with life-changing combat injuries.”
I am treating your correspondence as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act
2000.
I am writing to advise you that following a search of our recorded information, I have established that the
information you requested is not held by the Ministry of Defence.
Under section 16 of the Act (Advice and Assistance) you may find it useful to note:
As part of delivering the Strategy for our Veterans, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) alongside the Office
for Veterans Affairs within the Cabinet Office is committed to enhancing the collection, use and analysis
of data on the needs and experiences of the veteran community.
In regard to the number of veterans who are homeless:
The Government has taken a number of measures to identify and support veterans who are
experiencing, or who are at risk of, homelessness. The Homelessness Reduction Act includes a
statutory duty for members of the Armed Forces, who it is believed may be at risk of homelessness after
discharge, to be referred to a local housing authority in England. The MOD, through Veterans UK, also
provides a Defence Transition Service which offers those personnel who are known to be at risk of
challenges, which may impact on making a successful transition back into civilian life, with enhanced
support and a Veterans Welfare Service which provides support and assistance to veterans experiencing
or at risk of homelessness across England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.
Existing government data collection on homeless veterans:
• Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) does not currently collect
statistics on whether people sleeping rough have served in the Armed Forces. However, statistics
from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network suggest that 2% of the rough
sleeping population in London are UK nationals who have served in the Armed Forces. Other
independent research shows that the rough sleeping figures for veterans are around 3% across
the UK.
• H-CLIC (Homelessness Case Level Information Collection) is currently still the main vehicle to
capture more detailed data on those offered assistance in England through the Homelessness
Reduction Act (HRA), including whether an individual is a veteran.
• The latest H-CLIC data, April to June 2020, for England shows that of the 63,570 households
owed a homelessness duty, 410 had support needs because they had previously served in the
armed forces (less than 1% of all those presenting as homeless in England). Published
information can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statutory-homelessness-
in-england-april-to-june-2020
• The Scottish Government publish statistics on homelessness in Scotland, including the
percentage of households which had a member who was previously a member of the Armed
Forces
(https://www.gov.scot/publications/homelessness-scotland-2019-2020/pages/6/). Of the
31,333 homeless households in 2019/20, 3% had a member which was previously a member of
the Armed Forces.
In regard to the number of veterans who have committed suicide:
Suicide data for all veterans of the UK Armed Forces is not currently captured by the Government.
However, the MOD has commissioned a new study to investigate causes of death, including suicide,
amongst all those who served in the UK Armed Forces between 2001 and 2014, covering combat
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, encompassing veterans and those still serving:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-study-into-iraq-and-afghanistan-veterans-launched. MOD
officials are continuing to work with colleagues in NHS Digital, the Health Research Authority and
National Records Scotland and are hopeful that the initial report will be published later this year.
In 2019 the Secretary of State for Defence directed that the study be extended to include all veterans
who served after 2014, now and into the future. Thus MOD will be able to track the impact of future
deployments on the health of Service personnel both whilst serving and as veterans.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-calls-for-veteran-led-support-to-be-at-the-heart-
of-mental-health-services
The MOD also publishes studies on the causes of death, including suicide, of veterans from the 1982
Falklands war
(https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/causes-of-deaths-among-the-uk-armed-forces-
veterans-of-the-1982-falklands-campaign) and from the 1990/91 Gulf war
(https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/causes-of-deaths-that-
occurred-among-the-uk-veterans-of-the-199091-gulf-conflict). Both studies show that the suicide rates
amongst veterans were lower than comparative rates in the civilian population.
In regard to the number of veterans living with life-changing combat injuries:
The MOD does not use the definition “life changing injuries” as military personnel are assessed against
medical employment standards associated with their role. However, the MOD have previously provided
numbers of serious injuries sustained including amputations and injuries classified via the Notification of
Casualty system (NOTICAS) as very serious and serious injuries. NOTICAS is the name for the
formalised system of reporting casualties within the UK armed forces. It sets in train the MOD's next of
kin informing procedure. The MOD's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Policy and procedures set out
the guidance under which a NOTICAS report is to be raised. NOTICAS takes precedence over all but the
most urgent operational and security matters.
The MOD publish an annual report on the number of personnel who have sustained an amputation
during service, the report is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-service-
personnel-amputation-statistics-index. This report presents the number of UK service personnel who
sustained a partial or complete amputation because of injuries or illness and of which have been
medically discharged.
In addition, MOD publishes the number of military personnel who have been medically discharged, the
report is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/medical-discharges-among-uk-service-
personnel-statistics-index The MOD has also published information on the types of injuries sustained as a result of combat
operations in Afghanistan:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/types-of-injuries-sustained-by-uk-
service-personnel-on-operations-in-afghanistan-op-herrick-1-april-2006-to-30-november-2014
The MOD has published information on patients that were very seriously injured, or seriously injured in
Afghanistan:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/op-herrick-afghanistan-very-seriously-injured-
and-seriously-injured-tracking-index Publication of this report ceased in 2016 following a public
consultation due to a drop in the number of casualties sustained in Afghanistan.
If you have any queries regarding the content of this letter, please contact this office in the first instance
If you wish to complain about the handling of your request, or the content of this response, you can
request an independent internal review by contacting the Information Rights Compliance team, Ground
Floor, MOD Main Building, Whitehall, SW1A 2HB (e-mail
xxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx). Please note that
any request for an internal review should be made within 40 working days of the date of this response.
If you remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you may raise your complaint directly to the
Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act. Please
note that the Information Commissioner will not normally investigate your case until the MOD internal
review process has been completed. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Further details of
the role and powers of the Information Commissioner can be found on the Commissioner's website at
https://ico.org.uk/. Yours sincerely,
Defence Statistics Health
